The Saw-Cut Joint Tool is a set comprised of a 36-inch two-handled chisel and a 6-inch jointer tool. The chisel goes into the concrete first and is slid back and forth by a worker who keeps the side of the tool aligned against a screed and the groove flush with a string line. The chisel cuts 1 1/4 inch into a slab.
The jointer tool follows with its 3/8-inch blade, cleaning up the cut and resmoothing the surface of the concrete.
When used together, the two tools leave behind a line that is "perfectly clean." Saw cuts tend to fray along the edges of the line.
Saw cuts can also make a mess. They can throw dust all over a job site, and even if water is used to control the dust, cleanup can be messy. The wheels of a cutting machine can leave marks on a fresh slab. Neither problem occurs when someone on kneeboards uses the Saw Cut Joint Tool set to hand-carve a straight line into wet concrete. Workers may be able to get onto the concrete to cut joints two to three hours after pouring.
The Saw Cut Joint Tool is manufactured by Tom Ralston in steel and bronze.
This tool system saves time, eliminates messy saw cutting clean up, and it makes clean lines. My finishers love it!
-John Biasotti of Lewis Merlo, Inc., San Francisco, CA